Mobius: The Final Stand Ch. 36

Mobius City

9:33 am

Cosmo and Galaxina were eagerly looking around in the shopping mall at all the clothing, chatting with each other about what to get and wear, while Tails slowly dragged behind them.

"Shopping…. is…. so….boring…." Tails complained, groaning. He tiredly but quickly glanced at all the clothes surrounding him. "Aarrrggh…." He moaned, trying his best to make Galaxina and Cosmo have sympathy on him. Raymond and Galaxina had thought it was a good idea to try and get new clothes for herself and Cosmo since they only had their own trademark dresses with them, and Tails knew that it too. But that didn't change the fact that he STILL thought it was boring…

Cosmo meanwhile was pulling out various shirts and blouses from a rack, holding them in front of her in front of a large mirror in the middle of the department store. "What about this one, Galaxina?" She indicated towards a greenish summer-style shirt that had pictures of flowers all over it.

"Ooh that looks pretty Cosmo!" Galaxina complemented, then she smirked. "I'm sure Tails would LOVE it…"

Cosmo blushed. "Umm…" Galaxina laughed. "You should get it, really!" She then turned around to see Tails staggering past them, pretending to choke and die.

"Oh come on Tails," Galaxina giggled, very much amused by Tails' antics. She was in the process of sorting through another rack of clothing. "I promise I won't take much longer…"

Tails snorted. "You said that TEN MINUTES ago…" He pointed out, annoyed. Cosmo on the other hand looked up from what she was doing. She frowned, concerned. "I hope we're not making you unhappy by taking a long time Tails… If we are, then I'm terribly sorry…"

Tails sighed dejectedly. "Nah, it's okay Cosmo. You can take as long as you'd like! I'll just go check on what Raymond's up too..." Tails turned around and sped out the door, very much glad to be out of that place. Galaxina shrugged, and turned to Cosmo.

"Boys… you know how they are," She joked, making Cosmo giggle in return.

"I still love Tails the exact way he is though," Cosmo sighed thoughtfully. "I won't want him to ever change!"

Galaxina just smiled, in the middle of putting away another pair of shirts. "I'm happy for you two then!"

Meanwhile…

Raymond was lazily humming to himself, strolling around the mall with a smile on his face. He had just come back from one place in particular, and was carrying a small package in his hands…

"Whatcha doing Raymond?" Tails suddenly jumped out of nowhere, startling Raymond.

"Uhhh…. N-Nothing…..?" Raymond stuttered. He hid the small box behind his back. "I-I'm not doing anything…"

Tails smirked. "Oh really? Whatcha got there?" Tails pointed behind Raymond's back.

"N-Nothing…." Raymond spun around as Tails tried to see what he was holding.

"Oh come on Raymond! Tell me!" Tails asked. Then, he smirked. "Wait a minute… Is that for Galaxina…?"

Raymond blushed. "Uhhh…. No…..?"

"Ooh…" Tails laughed. "What did you get for her?" He tried again to grab the box out of Raymond's hands.

"N-Nothing!" Raymond slapped himself in the face. "I-I mean not like I DID get anything for her…"

Tails grinned. "Riiiight… So tell me? What is it? Is it a ring?"

"I told you I didn't get anything for her!" Raymond desperately tried to keep the box out of Tails' reach.

"Is it a necklace? Am I getting hotter or colder?"

"N-No…"

"Then how come you're trying to hide it from me?" As Raymond held the box over his head, Tails jumped with one hand outstretched. It collided with the box, sending it flying out of Raymond's hands. It spun around and around in the air, until it landed into the crowd of people nearby. Raymond and Tails looked at each other.

"Oh no you're not…" Raymond started.

"Oh yes I am!" Tails laughed playfully and the two of them pushed past each other and raced to grab the box before the other did.

Raymond could see the box right in front of him only a few yards away. He pushed past a couple of people, and dove for the box. He was just about to grab it when a person accidentally kicked it, and it went sliding further down the floor.

"Oh crap…" Raymond hurried back up to his feet and started off in a sprint towards the box. Tails meanwhile was flying over the crowd using his two tails to propel himself. He sped past Raymond, and flew down low to the ground. He snatched up the box right in front of Raymond's horrified eyes, and crowed victoriously.

"Hey! No fair you can fly!" Raymond called out, seeing Tails' fleeting figure race off. Tails meanwhile was looking back over his shoulder at Raymond.

"Looks like I win!" Tails replied, and turned back around just in time to see a pillar racing towards him. He yelped and leapt out of the way, but in the process, dropped the box. It went flying through the air, and fell onto the escalator. Due to its forward momentum, it kept tumbling down and down the stairs. Raymond, seeing that he had hope again, leapt over the side of the railway and jumped down to the escalator, landing in a crouched position. He spotted the box lying at the bottom, and ran down the escalator. Unfortunately, the escalator was moving upwards while Raymond was trying to run downwards.

"Wow I must look really stupid…" Raymond thought to himself as he slowly maneuvered down the escalator. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Tails flying towards him. Raymond grinned, and finally reached the bottom at the same time Tails reached there too. Raymond was just about to dive for the box again when Tails suddenly and instinctively raised a hand and a gust of wind flew out, and sent the box flying once more.

"Wha… did I just do that….?" Tails thought to himself, looking curiously at his own hand. His thoughts were interrupted however when he heard the sound of Raymond's shoes pattering on the hardwood floor. Tails ran off in a dead sprint after Raymond, who had almost caught up with the box.

"Come on… Come on…." Raymond muttered to himself as he tried to get past the group of milling animals. He saw the box being kicked again and again, sending it farther and farther away from him. "Come on people, look where you're stepping already!"

Raymond cursed again as he saw the box being kicked once more away from him. "Sorry… pardon me…. Excuse me…. " Raymond apologized as he brushed past people. He heard Tails' footsteps not too far away behind him, and in response hurried up his pace.

Animals ambling around nearby stared at the two foxes that were running through the mall, apparently as if they were chasing something. Raymond turned around and called back to Tails.

"Hey, don't you think we should stop before we make a scene…?"

Tails shrugged and shook his head. "Nah… Scared that I'll see what's in there, huh Raymond?"

"You'll have to get through me first!" Raymond called out challengingly. He spied the box only several feet away.

"Aha! Got it!" Raymond dove for it, and ALMOST grabbed it, but he failed to secure it tightly in his hands and it went sliding a few feet forwards. Raymond shut his eyes closed in despair when he realized who was standing just right in front of him.

"Umm… what are you doing Raymond?" Galaxina curiously asked Raymond, staring at his figure that was lying flat on the floor in front of her. She and Cosmo were both carrying a few bags of clothes.

Tails landed nearby the trio, grinning victoriously. "Well, open the box and you'll see!"

Galaxina bent over, and pick up the mysterious box in her hands. "What's this Raymond?"

"Uhh…." Raymond slowly stood up and brushed himself off. He knew that his life was just about all over…

"N-Nothing…" Raymond managed to stutter. Tails grinned.

"It's something Raymond got for you Galaxina! Except he was too embarrassed to tell me what it was…"

Galaxina blushed. "Really? Is that true Raymond?"

"Uhh…." Raymond blushed heavily looked down at his feet and kicked the ground beneath himself. "Maaaaybe.."

Tails smirked. "Well why don't you open it and find out?" he told Galaxina, who set down her shopping bags and carefully undid the lacing around the top. She then tore off the wrapping paper, and lifted the cover…

Galaxina gasped. "Oh my gosh! Is this really for me?" She lifted out a stunningly beautiful ring. It was a solid band of pure gold. A large, pink jewel rested on the top of it, adorned by criss-crossing rubies and sapphires.

"Isn't this the same exact ring you were going to give Emily?" Galaxina asked Raymond in surprise.

Raymond managed a small smile and nodded. "Yeah… it's not the SAME exact one, but it's pretty close. I found it in the window of the jewelry shop upstairs, and I want you to have it…"

Galaxina slowly shook her head. "No… no… I can't accept this from you…." She handed the ring back to Raymond. "Please… you really don't have to give me this…"

Raymond shook his head and grabbed Galaxina's left hand. He placed the ring on her finger, and smiled gently at her. "Nah, it's okay. I WANT to give it to you!"

Galaxina ran over and gave Raymond a big hug. Tears trickles down her face as she rested her face on Raymond's shoulder.

"Why are you crying, Galaxina?" Raymond asked her, his face full of worry and concern. She looked back up at him, smiling through her tears.

"Because I'm just so happy… happy that I have someone that cares a lot about ME too…"

Raymond grinned. "You're very welcome…" He held her close to himself. Some animals around the four of them were staring at them, but Raymond didn't care… He didn't care at all…

Cosmo stood next to Tails, an arm wrapped around his waist.

"Aww…" She softly whispered under her breath. Tails meanwhile made a face.

"Blecckk! Not in public guys!" Tails called towards Raymond and Galaxina, waving his arms frantically. "Come o-ffff!"

Tails was interrupted by Cosmo suddenly turning to him and kissing him on the lips. As they broke away, Cosmo giggled.

"You didn't complain when I kissed you in public, Tails…" Cosmo pointed out, amused. Tails blushed.

"Uhhh…" He tried to think of a comeback, but when he couldn't, he just shrugged and smiled. "You can kiss me whenever and I won't complain Cosmo!" Tails responded cheerfully, making Cosmo giggle again.

Raymond smiled and thought to himself, Galaxina still hugging him.

Nope… No regrets… No regrets at all…